1968 Chevrolet CST - New Truck Old Soul

It's a hard choice to make these days when it comes to buying a new truck-they are expensive! There are still parts of this country where you can buy a house for less than what some of today's fullsize pickups cost. Even with fluctuations in the real estate market, you can't drive your house off the lot and lose your butt. Jim Mori was thinking about signing his name on the papers for a new truck, but decided to spend the money on having his favorite old truck made new-better than new.

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It was actually Jim's brother Mike who had the idea to build the truck and enlisted the help of Eric Wise to get it done. As many brothers are, they were close to being on the same wavelength and Mike wanted a "new" old truck as well and decided to start with a truck that was not only handsome, but a semi-modern truck for being a classic, which of course would be a '67-72 Chevrolet.

A very nice '68 CST optioned shortbed was found, and Eric got to work on the chassis restoration/update. The truck was lowered with Early Classics parts all around and upgraded to five-lug, 11-inch disc brakes in the front while the rearend was rebuilt with a new posi and converted to five-lug also.

The powerplant is what sets this seemingly stock truck apart from the rest. Mike wanted a modern engine and trans underhood, but one that looked like it belonged there. So a 5.3L LS engine and matching 4L60E trans was pulled from a low-mile '04 Tahoe and was soon prepped and painted Chevy Orange. The LS was redressed in its stock accoutrements, which included the engine cover and even the factory airbox, which was made functional by bringing in fresh air through the passenger-side fender. Even OEM Corvette exhaust manifolds were used to avoid a non-stock look from a set of tubular headers.

The exterior of the truck is about as original looking as they come even though Eric shot the '68 in a Corvette color from '71 known as Mille Miglia Red. The rare CST-equipped C-10 wears the appropriate badging to indicate the option, but once you peek inside and see the factory bucket seats and console mounted between the doors you know it's something special. The red-on-red color combo is striking to say the least and North Kansas Auto Trim in Kansas City, Missouri, should be proud of their handiwork in the cab.

When Eric and Mike got done with the truck, Mike was unfortunately in a position to have to sell it, which is where Jim comes into play-who was in the market for a "new" truck. And the rest is history!